i have a 1986 trans am automatic tpi 305 v8

my shifter cable has always had a little slack or play by maybe half inch back n forth. but i could shift through gears fine.

but tonight for the first time i have to play with the shifter back and forth to get into the gear i want.

when i try to get out of park and go into reverse the cable feels like im pulling or tugging then it will fly past reverse and go into neutral.

on the positive side once im in gear car drives or does what the gear is supposed to do.

i drove it around tonight and stopped twice, once for gas then a store. and got back home. but i know my car, i know how it feels and sounds. and there is something wrong with the shifter. its too dark and ill have to wait to take apart my console to see whats goin on



any ideas guys?

 

I would use a 13 mm wrench and remove the nut on the from the shift lever. Then choke the tires and with the car off move the lever through the gears.you should be able to go all the way to what would be first easily. Putting it into part should be the hardest gear to go into.
If that feels ok then look at the clips that hold the cable to the bracket under the car and under the console cover If they are bent over then you need to replace the cable. I have been though this 6 times in a year. If it is the cable dont buy a doorman or atp cable go with a genuine gm cable. They are not available at the dealer anymore but you can get one at a junk yard. It will have the part number in white on the cable.

 

alright thanks,

when u say choke the tires, do you mean put something in the way so the car doesn't move.

also is there anykind of adjustment with that 13mm nut that can help if im able to get the shifter all the way down to 1st and back into park.

like i said before, all the gears work but just have slack and feels like im tugging on the cable when trying to get out of park, but shifting up through the gears back into park seems fine, its just pulling down on teh shifter and trying to hit the gear i want without going passed it and shifting back up to hit the one i want.

 

i jsut went out with a flash light and took off my shifter plate, things look ok, i dont see this 13mm nut, i only see the 4 bolts holding the shifter assembly to the floor.

i played with the shifter some more, basically just like i said above, car running, my foot on the brake, push down on the shifter button to get out of park and into reverse, it feels like im tugging and have to pull alittle and it wont shift until i hit overdrive, its like once i pull it that far back it gets its act together,

then i can shift up into neutral or reverse normally, and back into park if i wish, but starting from park its acting very funny.

i dont understand how the cable could be bad if im able to get into gears and drive around, its just getting out of park that something isn't right, then once pulling on it hard enoguh it will give in and at this point im in teh overdirve area and it will engage and lock into gear, from there i can do whatever i want and go back up into the gears it didnt recognize (N and R).

 

the shift lever is under the car driver side of the transmission

 

I remember when mine broke it was acting like that because the frayed cable didnt slide very well in the housing couple days later it snapped when i tried pulling it out of park. You first need to find out if its in your trans or cable so disconnect the cable from the trans.

 

Yep, on the bottom of the shifter there is a plastic sleeve that protects the cable mechanism and keeps the cable straight. After awhile those plastic housings break and you can't shift correctly or at all. Time to get a new cable. I got mine from autozone and it's lasting great. No issues besides the big black plug that seals to the body to keep the elements out

 

Ok since its finally daytime, i jacked up the car and found the shifter linkage to the transmission on the driver side.

i immediately found the problem

you guys ready for this?????

the bolts to the linkage were gone/loose!!!!!!!

i found one bolt luckily on the driveway and the other bolt was just threads away from falling out too!!!!

i bolted the shifter/linkage bracket nice and tight to the transmission and boom my shifter lives! and this explains the half inch slack ive had for a while which is also gone.

i had my transmission serviced a few yrs ago to fix a leaky internal gasket. and they did everything else while they were in there. but i guess after a while you need to re-tighten the bolts cuz the rest of the bolts to the transmission pan i had to give a 1/4 or half turn to be nice n tight i was amazed!

i just took the car for a few spins and its back to normal or better, the shift lever moves like it should and it even clicks better.

here are some pics

 

been there also. blue locktite those 2 bolts I did and they stopped coming out.

 

yea on my next day off ill go back and put lock washers or locktite or something.

im just amazed this happened but much happier it did than having to replace my cable "knock on wood"